Page 8 of An Alien for the Farm

I remain still on the roof where I stand, listening even though I probably shouldn’t. But I hear no other voices inside. Is she really alone? When the door opened and my gaze fell to the little thing before me, for a moment, I forgot where I was and what I’d come here for.

I had no clue what species I’d be working for. Didn’t really care. A benefit of being Kari, I suppose. Few species will dare to cause us trouble. I accepted the request to mend the roof, hopped into transport at first light, and headed to the coordinates. I expected a roof with a few holes that needed mending. I didn’t expect…this.

A roof so weathered it’s barely providing shelter, and a strange new female that caught me off guard.

Small prey species like hers can be easily scared by a Kari like me. But the female didn’t seem afraid. At least, not afraid enough. She opened the door, but not without hiding some weapon at her back. I almost chuckle at the memory. She’s no fool. She’s smart.

I walk on the roof, making sure my footing is sure as I make my way across the small abode. Probably abandoned by a Merssi farmer ages ago. It’s small but will make a nice, safe home once all the repairs are made. But it is also old and has been left unkempt for a long time. Most of the treestem holding it together is rotten and the fibers that prevent rain and starshine getting remain only out of loyalty. The strange unexpected female doesn’t want me to redo the entire thing? I don’t think I’ll have a choice. I cannot with good conscience do sub-par work.

As I pass one of the holes in the roof, I crouch and stick a digit in. It goes right through and I grunt, marking the spot as dangerous. And there are more just like that. I’m just about to rise and continue my survey when I catch movement through the hole.

The little female is within.

I stop moving. I should turn away but curiosity has me freezing there, watching her.

The garment she wears sways as her hips move, the hem brushing against her smooth legs. She heads out of sight and I hear her muttering something. Flipping off my language implant, her words float into my brain in their original form. “Needtochecktheoogas andwalktheperimeter, seehowbigthisplacereallyis whilethishunkworksonmy roof.” It’s a sing-song way of speaking. Almost like an avian chirping.

Endearing.

But it’s not a language I’ve ever heard before. Not even close. She’s from somewhere far, far away from the Hudo star system.

She appears again and my core-beat gives a hard thump, a soft growl developing in my throat as she lifts her colorful strands high on her head and sort of rolls them together, revealing her neck. There’s something mesmerizing about the way she moves, a grace that has me still staring when I should have already looked away. Under usual circumstances, I wouldn’t have paused to look at all. But I’m caught unable to look away as I watch the strange creature move within.

She has no wings but when she walks she flutters, her steps light and airy. The garment she wears swings. The tendrils on her head sway.

Like an avian inspecting a bloom, she peeks into things placed on a table within the lodging. Poking here and there before fluttering to another section.

It’s captivating.

I continue to watch, my eyes tracing the line of her neck down to her shoulders, the gentle curve of her shoulders. When she turns my way, there are strange transparent things in frames balanced on her nose. Those weren’t there when she greeted me at the door. They restrict the view of her blue eyes and I detest them immediately, but as she adjusts them on her nose, I find myself transfixed again. They don’t take away from her beauty; no, they give another view of it.

Beauty?

Hmm. I hum low as I watch her. Too low for her to hear.

It’s been a long time since I’ve found any female beautiful or even mildly interesting. But this strange avian without wings…she is. Undoubtedly so. Though I don’t know exactly why. Despite that, I cannot deny that this little female is beautiful. Very beautiful.

Grabbing what looks like a strange bowl I soon realize is a head covering when she places it on her crown, she heads to the front door and disappears from my view.

I shake my head to clear my thoughts, her disappearance enough to push some logic back into my brain. It’s a new day. The start of a new day. There’s much to do and I’m already so easily distracted? Varek will return soon with the materials I need and I must be ready to make the most of the time that will follow. By the end of this sol, I can have the roof recovered, safe, and ready for the little female.

Rising, I continue my survey, constantly aware of every sound the little female makes now outside of her abode. She’s being quiet. Just little hums here and there as she walks around the lodging. When I get near the edge of the roof, I catch her once or twice, touching wild plants growing freely in the yard. It takes a moment for me to realize it’s not just random plants she’s touching. It’s the blooms. Pops of red, yellow, and violet among the dark syleen weeds and orange grass-feed. At one point, she leans in, brushing her nose against one of the blooms and I shift closer to the edge, watching her. She’s behaving like an avian again. She seems particularly attracted to the blooms, as if they give her some kind of pleasure by simply existing.

Strange new liora—a fitting name for such a female like her.

I watch as she moves from the blooms over to the remnants of a well. She peeks into the dark hole before turning her focus to the old, retired tilling machines resting beside it. Just from the way she pauses then walks around them it’s clear she has no idea what they are or how they work. But she will need them to till the ground for her crops. There is no other way to do it.

When she walks off and promptly disappears into the tall grass-feed, I stand tall, my brows furrowing.

That field needs to be tended to. Anything could be hiding in it and the female’s so tiny…

I don’t know why a breath of relief makes my shoulders less tense when I see her headgear bobbing through the grass as she makes her way toward the perimeter fence. A small smile threatens at my lips, a brow quirking as I watch the headgear move. A liora indeed.

She starts at one end of the fence, taking her time, head bobbing as she walks. It’s the only thing that tells me where she is, just that bit of her headgear that tells me she seems to be checking the perimeter.

I forget my task as I watch her go. A few oogas lift their heads to look her way before ignoring her again and her laughter reaches me on the wind. She says something I don’t understand and I curse myself for forgetting to switch on my implant again.

“—note to self,” she says loudly, the implant picking up her words as it starts firing again. “If I find a snake, try not to scream like a little girl and scare the big, strong alien working on my roof. Are there even snakes out here? Shit. I didn’t ask Xarion.”

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